description | The Neue Galerie, founded by Otto Kallir-Nirenstein in Vienna in 1923, played a significant role in the history of art collecting by showcasing both Austrian artists such as Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, and Oskar Kokoschka, and international modernists like Max Liebermann and Edvard Munch. Following Austria's annexation in 1938, Kallir emigrated to New York, where he established the Galerie St. Etienne in 1939. Despite a forced transfer of ownership under Nazi policies, the Vienna gallery continued under Vita Künstler, adapting its program during wartime and resuming its progressive focus post-war. The gallery's extensive business records, now housed at the Belvedere, remain a vital resource for provenance research.
|